I have an employee who is 400+ pounds that has back problems that are getting worse. She consulted with a Dr. in VA who is in solo practice who said he wouldn't touch her till she weighed around 250. Well if she could do that, she wouldn't need WLS!!

Anyway, with her back and decreased mobility, her weight continues to creep up. I know ECU is a Center for Excellence for Bariatric surgery, and wondered if anyone had personal experience with them or could suggest a Dr. from there.

My doc trained there even though he is not practicing there, and I have been very pleased and impressed with his skills and program.

Our insurance here would be no problem and other than high blood pressure, she is in good health and I think would be an excellent candidate. Since she asked and is interested, I said I would see what I could find out.

There are several ECU patients here on the NC Board. I'm one of them. Dr. Chapman and Dr. Pender are both excellent and have tackled some tough cases. If you want more info, checkout their website. http://www.ecu.edu/weightlosssurgery/

I answered on your other thread. I had Dr. Kenneth MacDonald at ECU and couldn't possibly recommend him any higher. He is absolutely top notch!!!! My dad was a surgeon and researched Dr. MacDonald very carefully for me before I went to him (and before my father passed away). He is a past president of the ASMBS and is absolutely one of the finest bariatric surgeons in the country. He is also a very, very nice man. I recommend him without qualification from the bottom of my heart.

You have come to the right place!! As Alice said, there are a lot of us on this board who have had WLS at ECU. My Doctor (Dr MacDonald) is with Southern Surgical and of course I think he's the best in the world! He did my RNY (6 years ago) and my Gall Bladder last year. I was 425 at my highest weight and 395 the day of WLS. There is definate help for your friend. Have her come on Obesityhelp and chat with us. I had other co-morbities but my back and knees were a problem also. PM me if you have any specific questions for me. I hope you have a great week!

I am another Dr. Mac fan.
He just did my surgery in Jan, when i got pneumona he didn't hesitate about coming in and seeing me in the hospital, and doing a scope to make sure everything is going well.
I believe his gift is from god to help over weight people. HE is a very nice person, very easy to talk to, and i know your friend is in good hands with him..
I highly recommend him to anyone..
I hope this helps your friend, and i hope she get the help she needs with weight gain. We all have been there, different weight and size but we've all been in the same shoes.
Let her know to come to this website, I believe the NC boards has some of the greatest and supportive people you could ever want to know.
Keep us updated on your friend

When I started out, pre-op I weighed 362lbs.
I went through Dr. Pender at ECU Brody School of Medicine and March 5th is my 1 year "surgiversary" and I have lost 161lbs in less than an a year and NO complications :)
If you go to my profile you can read up on my story!!
JAMI

I to am one of Dr. Pender's patients and would recommend him to anyone. Dr. Chapman and Dr. Pender have a wonderful staff that is always there to help. I started out on this journey at 320lbs here I am nine months later at 191 lbs. that's 129lbs in less than one year. I have had no complications, the key is to follow directions and take care of yourself. I hope this will help.

Dr. Chapman at the Brody School of Medicine, ECU, is my surgeon. I am super impressed with him. I asked him the day of my surgery how he got into doing bariatric surgery. He said when he originally came to ECU he was the laproscopic (sp?) specialist. When he met the bariatric team they were all doing WLS as an open procedure, so he taught them all how to do it laproscopically (sp?). Now, not only is he the head of the bariatric surgery dept, he's also the chief laproscopic specialist. Yeah, you could say I'd recommend him! Big time! Your friend will be in good hands. When I did my first consult with Dr. Chapman I was over 400 lbs. He said he could probably do my surgery laproscopically, but I needed to lose some weight to reduce the risk of complications or the need for an open procedure during surgery. I lost some weight. On the day of my surgery I was 362 I think. Good luck to your friend.

I had Dr. Chapman and had the Rouen by-pass last September and have lost more than 120 pound since the surgery without any complications or problems. Dr. Chapman's office is very efficient, and there is never a long wait to see him.
If I had realized how much this surgery has helped me, I would have had it done a long time ago, and I recommend Dr. Chapman without any hesitation.

I too have had my surgery at ECU by Dr. Pender, and I would definitely recommend him. You can't go wrong with the doctors there. I am so pleased with the surgeons, staff and hospital that I couldn't imagine going anywhere else. Please tell your employee to contact them and refer herself. Before I started I had hit 450lbs and on my first visit there I weighed 442#. My only advice for her is to get the ball rolling with ECU Physicians and try to loose weight and prepare for a life changing experience.

Best wishes for your employee. Tell her to log on her for support this is a great site to get questions answered and support from people that have been there and done that.

Courtney

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